Majority-Buddhist Myanmar is made up of eight major and eight minor ethnic groups, each of which hoped for autonomy after Burmese independence 70 years ago, and some of the world’s longest-running civil wars continue here. Operation World, a Christian missionary organisation, calls Myanmar “a deeply fractured nation on a political and especially ethnic level”. The conflict zones along the country’s borders are where most of Myanmar’s Christians live, including the Kachin and Karen ethnic minorities, which have faced years of government oppression. Meanwhile, the rise in the number of Muslims has provoked the Patriotic Association of Myanmar, locally known as Ma Ba Tha and led by influential Buddhist monks. Ma Ba Tha is not merely anti-Muslim, it is Buddhist nationalist, so Christians are not beyond its focus. Myanmar was thrown into a crisis following a coup on 1 February 2021 which has left ethnic religious minorities even more vulnerable.
Myanmar monk builds pagoda on church grounds
A Myanmar Christian leader appealed for calm Wednesday after an influential Buddhist monk built pagodas within the compound of a church in a country beset with religious tensions, . Supporters of the monk Myaing Kyee Ngu erected a religious statue and planted a Buddhist flag on a church’s grounds in […]
Ethnic affairs ministry ‘vital’ to Myanmar
Myanmar’s new President-elect says the appointment of a new ethnic affairs ministry is “vital” for the country’s future. In his first public address, Htin Kyaw said the ministry would be central to Myanmar’s “peace, development and sustainability”. Myanmar is made up of eight major ethnic groups, who all hoped for […]
Myanmar’s new Speaker represents ethnic minorities
An ethnic Karen Christian has been selected as Speaker, a senior job in Myanmar’s Upper House that is seen as a reconciliation effort towards the country’s ethnic minorities, . Mahn Win Khaing Than was appointed by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, which swept to power in Myanmar’s first […]
Myanmar army ‘covered up’ Christian killings
A new report investigating the rape and murder of two Kachin Christian teachers in Myanmar accuses the government of “systematic cover up”. Produced by the Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand and the Legal Aid Network, to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the deaths of Maran Lu Ra, 20, and […]
Myanmar’s minorities in government talks
Political dialogue between Myanmar’s government and eight ethnic minority groups are taking place in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, . Some, if not most, of the ethnic minorities, are Christian, such as the Karen in the south. The at the election in November of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the […]
After Aung San Suu Kyi’s election win, Myanmar’s displaced Kachin are hopeful they can go home for Christmas
As democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi prepares to assume power in Myanmar, two Baptist leaders among the country’s ethnic Kachin refugees are cautiously expecting more freedom to live their Christian faith, perhaps as soon as this Christmas. More than 100,000 ethnic Kachin, displaced due to civil war that broke […]
Myanmar’s Christians cautiously hopeful
In Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy , has won a landslide victory in the first freely-contested election in 25 years, winning the needed two-thirds of the vote to enable it to nominate the country’s new President. Even though she herself is barred from that role, Suu Kyi has […]
Myanmar regulates interfaith marriage
Myanmar’s President has signed a law requiring interfaith couples to seek permission before they can marry. “Under the law, interfaith couples have to notify the local government and post a public announcement of their intention to marry,” reports Al Jazeera. “They will be allowed to wed if there are no […]
In Myanmar, Christian rebels are in double trouble
In March the Myanmar government and 16 rebel groups signed a draft ceasefire agreement, ahead of national elections scheduled for November this year. The pact, however, doesn’t contain self-determination provisions that these ethnic groups have demanded. Myanmar is made up of eight major and eight minor ethnic groups, each of […]
Myanmar police accused of raping Christian, 15
Two policemen have allegedly raped a 15-year-old girl from Myanmar’s Chin state – home to the majority of the country’s Christians. The allegations were made by the girl’s father. He filed a report at the local police station stating that two officers had taken her away on a motorbike and […]